On The Beach –1959 & 2000

In January 1964, the fallout from a nuclear war has obliterated life in the Northern Hemisphere and lethal clouds of irradiated dust are slowly making their way to the Southern Hemisphere, threatening the inhabitants of Australia. Dwight Towers, the captain of the American nuclear submarine U.S.S. Sawfish , which had been trolling the South Pacific during the conflict, contacts the Royal Australian Navy and is welcomed to their main harbor in Williamstown. Admiral Bridie assigns young Lt. Peter Holmes to liaison with Dwight and the Sawfish crew for a reconnaissance mission to track the deadly radiation circling the globe, which is predicted to reach Australia in five months.

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As Australians begin reporting increasing signs of radiation illness, the government disperses the suicide pills. Some people turn to excessive partying while others listen with faint hope to religious messages as their end nears. Dwight asks his crew their wishes and they request to return to America to die at home.

From Russell Mulchay's 2000 Remake


When she arrived in Melbourne, Australia, Ava Gardner commented to the press: "We've come to make a movie about the end of the world and this looks like the place for it." The residents were unamused with her remark and Stanley Kramer had to do some quick damage control with Gardner's help.